


A series of One-Shots

by IceboundEmu



Category: LoveLink (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Cheating, M/M, Spanking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 07:48:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29897913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IceboundEmu/pseuds/IceboundEmu
Summary: It's often been suggested that the MC in the app is various different MC's across the multiverse, but these stories focus on what Ludia has alluded to, that some characters exist in the same universe and may be aware of each other's existence.Basically my musings on what would happen if their paths crossed.
Relationships: Blake Bailey/Alex Frederik, Various characters/MC
Comments: 3
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> As the title suggests, a series of one shots that I've written to get out of my system, then need to revisit later to see if I actually want to continue.
> 
> The first focuses on our favourite prisoner Austin and picks up about the point Ludia left off in his current story.

Austin slumped against the wall of the cell, wishing his heart would cease its frantic hammering because he feared it would burst out of his chest. He was dimly aware he’d clenched his teeth so hard that his jaw ached, but he was mostly numb to the physical discomfort given the mental scream of anguish his brain was currently trapped in.

There was no getting away from it, he’d completely fucked up this time. Even if by some miracle Big Dog hadn’t died there was no way he’d be allowed out of prison given the nature of the assault he’d just carried out. His traitorous memory refused to let him remember when there had been any signs of life showing when he’d stepped over Big Dog’s slumped form and fled to the library, his one place of refuge in this hellhole. Instead, he kept sliding back to the look of horror on his girlfriend’s face, as it had dawned on her that he was every bit the monster he claimed to be. His last vision of her, as the guards had dragged him to solitary, had confirmed in his mind that they’d written him off as a lost cause.

Tamping down the urge to wail at the pain his thoughts were causing him Austin was at first oblivious to the fact he was not alone in the room. As his peripheral vision alerted him to the unexpected movement, he didn’t even have time to scream as a hand clamped itself firmly across his mouth and he was restrained by an inhumanly strong hold.

“Well, you’re definitely something pretty to look at, I suppose I can’t fault her taste in men. She did after all chose me.”

The voice in his ear was rich and thick, though Austin caught an undercurrent of an accent he couldn’t quite place. The words themselves made little sense until he ran them through his mind a couple of times, then as the meaning began to sink in, he swore his blood turned to ice. The change in his mental state didn’t seem to pass un-noticed by his captor, there was a soft chuckle in his ear, and he felt the tickle of hair against his skin as they shifted position, forcing him to lie prone on his belly on the floor of the cell.

“Ah monogamy, such a human concept. But then you almost killed a man for her, didn’t you? Though you had killed him? Not quite, little butterfly, you’re not the first man to go for him, I daresay he’s become quite good at playing dead.”

The words were something of a balm for his troubled mind, if he hadn’t then immediately been ambushed by the thought, he now had revenge from two former gangs to be worried about. Followed then by the creeping realisation he had to get out of this encounter alive to be concerned about what came after. The was another chuckle from above him.

“You’re certainly more intelligent that most of the people I meet on my visits here…an attractive quality I must admit. Such potential wasted, left to go mad whilst you’re caged like some savage beast.”

The words spoken were oddly poetic, Austin briefly wondered whether he could structure them into a poem, before the irrationality of that thought struck him and he had to stifle the urge to giggle. 

The monologue continued above him.

“Well behaved too…or have you already realised that it would be futile to struggle?”

The tone dripped with honey, but even as his brain grasped the threat in the words, he could feel his limbs growing heavy and his consciousness starting to wane. His last conscious memory was that he’d been rolled onto his back, exposing his delicate underbelly…then nothing but darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jonathan deals with the fall out of his poor decision to break protocol.
> 
> I attempt to introduce the reason why his Senior Officer let his lapse slide.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now the turn of our Soldiers...again sticking to canon and working with what Ludia gave me.

Albert was aware that viewing the soldiers that served under him as unruly puppies was probably against army protocol, but the comparison worked for him. In fifteen years of service, he liked to think that he’d become good at identifying when they needed comfort, support or discipline administered.

Jonathan was definitely in need of a serious lesson in discipline.

Albert had just signed off the papers authorising Jonathan to make video calls via the secure room in the base, so he’d been furious to find his junior officer on the phone in the corridor in a clear breach of every security protocol in base had just enraged him further, he’d begun scolding him without a second thought, praying to god they were out of earshot of anyone who would look to write it up formally, because Jonathan was far too valuable an asset to the squad to lose him over what seemed such a minor lapse of judgement.

The voice from Jonathan’s pocket had made him seriously reconsider that opinion.

“For Christ’s sake Hayes. You couldn’t even hang up?!”

Jonathan flinched at the venom in his tone as he spat out the other’s surname, before sheepishly extracting the phone from his pocket, where he’d made a hasty attempt to hide it. Through the red haze of anger Albert recognised the woman from the photo’s Jonathan had shared of his match on Lovelink, who at least had the grace to look as abashed as her boyfriend did. Which lasted for all of about ten seconds until she launched into a spirited defence of why it wasn’t Jonathan’s fault that he’d acted in such a way, which perversely only served to make Albert feel angrier. It had been on the tip of his tongue to challenge her on why, if she were an army brat as she claimed, it hadn’t occurred to her how her own family would have viewed such a breach in protocol, whatever the reason.

Finally, he’d tired of the bleating and snapped at Jonathan to end the call before someone did enter the corridor and see what was happening. The apologetic expression Jonathan gave the woman before he terminated made Albert grit his teeth in frustration, resisting the urge to slap some sense into Jonathan.

“My office Hayes. Now.”

Without waiting to see Jonathan’s expression Albert spun on his heel and marched off, trusting Jonathan was at least intelligent enough to follow.

Ryan was sitting in Albert’s chair studying some paperwork when Albert stormed into his own office, the young brunette glanced up at his unexpected appearance, smile dropping from his face as he took in his superiors’ expression, falling further when he took in Jonathan trailing after him. Without further prompting he jumped to his feet, pulling off a stiff salute before moving to leave the office and give them a facsimile of privacy.

“Stay here Adams, just shut the damn door.”

Ryan complied, standing behind his best friend uncomfortably as Jonathan took up the stance expected of him, standing to attention in the centre of the room, staring fixedly ahead at some point in the middle distance even as Albert invaded his personal space to bare his teeth at him and show how close he was to losing his cool. To his credit Jonathan didn’t bat an eyelid, obviously the walk to the office had given him time to marshal some inner reserves of strength.

“I’m not going to ask you what you were thinking Hayes, because I’m sure you weren’t thinking when you decided to break rules specifically put in place to keep you and your fellow soldiers safe…do you have any idea what you’ve just done? What would have happened if it hadn’t been me in the corridor behind you?”

The questions he was asking were rhetorical, by all rights he should be writing Jonathan up on charges for his lapse in judgement. Albert had to admit though he still retained a soft spot for Jonathan though, he was the youngest in the unit, with a habit of getting himself into scrapes. This was by far the worst thing he’d done and if this went down any official route, he could kiss goodbye to his newly earned rank, he’d be lucky if he avoided a stint in military prison for it. Albert was purposefully keeping his voice low, knowing that if he started shouting the entire area would know what happened and there would be no way of avoiding this going further. Ryan’s discretion could be relied on, he’d been best friends with Jonathan since they’d been in training together, a glance in his direction showed Albert how distressed Ryan was at what he was hearing.

Jonathan looked to be gritting his teeth, but at least had the sense not to interrupt. Albert guessed that wouldn’t last when Jonathan realised what was about to happen.

“Give me your phone Hayes.”

That appeared to throw Jonathan.

“Sir?”

“Did I stammer Hayes? Give me your phone. I need to know just what you’ve been discussing about your assignment here.”

“But…”

Whatever Jonathan was about to say was cut off as he took in the ice in Albert’s expression.

“Would you prefer to make this official Hayes? I promise you; they won’t be asking nicely.”

Jonathan complied in silence, fishing the mobile from his fatigues and handing it over without further protest, keying in the access code to unlock the screen for his commanding officer. He then resumed his glassy stare into the distance as he obviously attempted to dissociate himself from Albert scrolling though what he quickly realised were some extremely intimate conversations between two people.

Albert was almost immediately struck by the disparity in the persona exhibited by Jonathan’s match. He’d scrolled back far enough in the narrative to have stopped near the commencement of their conversation, and though the initial admission that Jonathan’s girlfriend had been raised as an army brat was a balm to his worry (because they’d know about the need for security) that comfort had quickly evaporated in light of their more recent conversations in which they’d apparently morphed into a whining brat when deprived of the full attention Jonathan could lavish on them whilst off active operations.

It was a pretty quick process to ensure Jonathan hadn’t released any information about the nature of the mission they were undertaking, which perversely brought his mind back to the reason he’d been looking for Jonathan in the first place. Clearing his throat uncomfortably Albert struggled to think how to phrase that particular part of his dressing down as he waved the phone under Jonathan’s nose, watching the blonde snatch it back and lock it, before storing it away again.

“Don’t EVER do that again Hayes…Oh, and intel would like me to remind you video calls home are recorded, so, you may want to think about that before putting on a show for them next time? Dismissed.”

Jonathan left the office without another word. It was only after he departed, and Ryan had shut the door again that either dared to meet each other’s eyes.

Ryan looked as though he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, and Albert wondered how much he’d managed to infer from what Albert had been saying.

“I caught him on a video call in the corridor to his girlfriend. Who then seemed to think that letting me know she was there would somehow make everything okay?”

Ryan went pale as the realisation sunk in. Then his expression turned into one of perplexment.

“Wait, wasn’t she raised on an army base?”

Albert shrugged, supposing that he could submit a request to see whether anyone listed by that name had served, or was currently serving within the military, but it would be a waste of time and effort and just result in more questions he wouldn’t be particularly inclined to answer. The best think he could do for Jonathan’s sake would be step back and let the lesson sink in. If the rumours around base were to be believed the top brass were talking about a complete block on communications home, there had been a few “near misses” reported already, though Jonathan had far exceeded that in his breach of protocol.

“Jonathan’s phone is going to have to have an accident with the incinerator.”

It was the only way to make sure that this never got any further than the two of them. Otherwise, Jonathan’s mistake could still be picked up on post mission checks. He didn’t need to explain further, Ryan nodded grimly, catching his meaning.

“Why did you give it back to him then?”

“He’s going to have to decide for himself whether it’s still worth communicating with his Girlfriend. Or, when he has to deal with the fallout, whether the relationship is worth salvaging…”

Albert trailed off, remembering the bitter tone of the previous few conversations between Jonathan and someone he’d previously been discussing moving in with and introducing to his parents. Though he had serious doubts about the ability of the relationship to survive if she couldn’t accept an integral part of Jonathan’s job as a serving soldier, he was also concerned Jonathan might be forced into a course of action he might regret if he allowed himself to be worn down again. But ultimately it wasn’t his place to decide and impose his will on Jonathan, it was something he would need to work through himself.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Dr Vile and Sexy Soldier crossover that no one asked for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess it's another interpretation of what Jonathan could be off doing?
> 
> This is really going to screw with Jonathan if MC is also dating Dr Vile.

Waking was a somewhat painful experience.

Jonathan’s immediate realisation when he woke was that he couldn’t move, mainly because his attempt to hold his aching head in his hands was curtailed by the bite of the metal restraints against his wrists. His ankles had been secured in a similar fashion, and when he managed to raise his head to look down the effect was finished by a steel band across his midriff, which on its own would have severely affected his ability to change position. Studying them carefully Jonathan surmised they were probably on some sort of electromagnetic lock; he couldn’t see any evidence of a locking mechanism he could have attempted to pick even if he had the hands free to try.

The room in which he lay was remarkably featureless, the walls smooth and devoid of decoration, sliding seamlessly into the ceiling, which was an unremarkable shade of magnolia, a single light fitting sunken into a recess which was covered by an opaque frosted glass. The light cast was soft, which Jonathan was thankful for whilst his head felt like it was splitting in two. Aside from the table that he was currently tied to the room was devoid of other furniture. There was nothing to indicate where he was currently located.

As for how he’d woken up here…well at least that was clearer in his mind. The mission had seemed to be going well, though they’d been provided precious few details on the base they were sent to recon. The place had seemed deserted at a first glance, they’d still proceeded with caution, fearing ambush at any given point when without warning the floor had opened up beneath Jonathan and he’d found himself in freefall, his fall broken by a body of water. He’d swum to the side of the room, then followed the line of the wall until he’d found a spot where the water became shallower, eventually evening out into dry land. A glance upward had shown the floor had closed up after him, so anyone following the same path would probably blunder into the same trap he had, unless he could get back to warn them in time.

It was at that point someone, or something, had cracked him across the temple, and he’d dropped to his knees, stunned by the blow. Almost immediately after he’d felt the stab of a needle in his arm, and consciousness had abandoned him soon after.

Then he’d woken in this bland, featureless room. With the headache to end all headaches and not even the memory of a good night out to account for it.

“Ah. I see you’re finally awake.”

The voice came out of nowhere, there was no sign of whoever had uttered the words in the room with him, it took a few seconds for Jonathan to realise there must be a speaker in one of the walls which was broadcasting at him.

“Who the hell are you and where the fuck am I?”

Jonathan wasn’t in much of a mood to be polite, though part of him wondered whether he was breaking protocol by engaging in discourse with a possible hostile presence. If questioned later about it he could always fall back on the defence that he wasn’t engaging in friendly discussion, since he’d basically started with profanity.

A previously hidden door slid open in front of him, and Jonathan screwed his eyes shut at the painful brightness of the corridor outside in comparison to the room, he was aware of a presence in the doorway, male from the silhouette, before he heard the doors slide shut again and hazarded opening his eyes again. He was aware he was no longer alone in the room, the figure that loomed over him was partially obscured in shadow, Jonathan was unable to make out his facial features, above his nose, though he had a fleeting impression of blue eyes that seemed to glow in an inhuman manner and was fascinated by the scars that ran down his cheeks, as though something had clawed at the man’s face.

The figure tutted, leaning over him and appearing to check the restraints that held him in place.

“Such language. Who are you, my little Soldier, to be caught trespassing in one of my bases?”

Jonathan furrowed his brow as he puzzled over the words.

“Your bases?”

That earned him a sigh from the man.

“So, you blundered into one of my bases without knowing who I am? Do your superiors tell you nothing of what you’re facing?”

Anything Jonathan could have said at that point would have come across as extremely sarcastic. Bad mouthing the command that often sent them into areas without telling them anything of what they might encounter would earn him reprimands if this was some fucked up initiation test. As if sensing a response would not be forthcoming the man continued to speak.

“I am Dr Vile.”

Jonathan laughed before he could stop himself.

“Oh my god, what kind of bad B-Villain movie name is that? Let me guess, you’ve captured me and I’m on your secret moon base. Right?”

He didn’t receive an immediate response from the man, who instead seemed to type something into a device mounted on his arm, which caused a window to appear in one of the previously empty walls. At which point Jonathan realised as sarcastic as his response might have been, he’d somehow managed to hit the nail on the head, which if this weren’t an illusion, was enough to render him speechless.

“Hollywood has a lot to answer for. But yes. You are currently on my base of operations, which happens to be located on the moon.”

Jonathan had to admit that was impressive. Distracted by the view he didn’t see the syringe Dr Vile was wielding until it was buried in his arm. Emitting a yelp of shock and pain, Jonathan could do nothing but watch as the man depressed the plunger, and the contents was dispersed into his bloodstream. He began the feel the effects a minute or so later, though the relief as the headache began to ebb away outweighed any initial panic Jonathan might have felt. It was only as he felt his eyelids growing heavy again that he began to struggle, by which point it was already far too late and he slid into unconsciousness.

Doctor Vile studied the sleeping soldier restrained to his table and tried to resist the urge to sigh in frustration. He wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting when the boy woke, maybe he’d hoped a little too much that there might be some glimmer of recognition at the mention of his name, a hint of fear perhaps? As it was it had gone just as the rational part of his mind had pointed out it would, the boy had been oblivious to who he was, just intended by his superiors to be another nameless sacrifice as they attempted to sound out the defences on the base, they’d tried to infiltrate for the twentieth time that year. Not that most of the defences had actually been active, otherwise the base they’d set up far to close to the building in question would be nothing more than a molten mess cooling in the desert breeze.

What was more offensive was that it wasn’t even one of the bigger bases he had down on the surface, apparently it hadn’t occurred to the authorities that it was easier to own a high rise in the middle of the city and have your workers within commutable distance than set up in the wilderness and draw attention to yourself. The desert base was a failed early experiment in automated robot workers, he’d stripped it of anything of value years ago, then just relied on rumours and the automated defence system to instil in his enemies the idea there must be something there worth having.

Still, from what little conversation he’d managed to have with the boy before the med bot had started alerting him to the pain the soldier was hiding from him had impressed him. He hadn’t spat at him and aside from the odd profanity, seemed to have been willing to talk. Good conversation was hard to come by when you lived alone, he’d not seen the need to make robots that could talk back, and he had no desire to take one of his earthbound minions as a confidant. Hell, he’d toyed with the idea of setting up a profile on Lovelink until he’d sat down and listed all the possible things that could go wrong with that idea. So, for the most part he’d spent the last few years watching the mess that humanity was making of the planet and tinkering with his machines, biding his time and waiting.

Truth be told Dr Vile knew he could have already destroyed humanity several times over if he’d wanted to. If he waited around long enough they’d probably wipe themselves out with their own stupidity, he’d already had to step in more than once to alter the direction of several projects, one of which, if left unchecked, could have wiped out most of the population with a genetically modified virus, which had initially been created in a lab for the purpose of warfare.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An alternative way Jonathan could have returned to you...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not as ominous as my summary of the chapter might suggest, but this was something I was working on before Jonathan's return.
> 
> Guess it also counts as another way to meet his family?

The last twelve hours could only be described as nightmarish.

It had started, strangely enough with a call from an unknown number, which, against all odds you’d decided to answer. Assuming you’d be met with the usual market researcher, or personal injury lawyer you’d prepared to deliver a polite brush off, the words you heard the female voice utter had stopped you in your tracks.

“Is that Rowan Adams? I believe you know my son Jonathan, Jonathan Hayes?”

Somehow, you’d managed to stammer out an affirmative, that yes, the name was one you knew, all the while icy terror steeping into your veins as your mind went into overdrive on the reason, this woman, his mother, would be calling you. 

“There was an…incident whilst Jonathan was out on posting. He’s in hospital, he’s been asking for you.”

Relief flooded in that whatever state Jonathan was in he was alive, followed by the distress at the thought of Jonathan calling for you and you not being there to offer him comfort. Shaking yourself out of the dark thoughts you forced yourself to concentrate on what was happening and get to the end of the conversation.

“Which hospital is he in?”

You finally managed more than a shell-shocked response, seizing the opportunity to snag a pen and a notepad so you could write down the information and start planning.

“The Army flew him home, so he’s currently in Portland, Maine with us. I was wondering whether you’d mind coming to see him?”

Mind? They couldn’t pay you enough to keep you away. You made a couple of scribbles on your notepad.

“Right, I can be there in five hours or so. Just need to get to get to the airport.”

“Really? We can meet you there.”

She sounded surprised at your enthusiasm, you wondered about the partners that had preceded you if she thought you’d be reluctant to travel to see your boyfriend when he needed you the most. Even as you ended the call to her you were already hurrying to your room to pack what you needed.

The trip to the airport via taxi and the flight itself were wholly unremarkable, though you’d gritted your teeth to get through most of it and maintain the façade of being a functioning human being. At some point during your time in the air you’d realised that you were meeting Jonathan’s parents for the first time, without the benefit of Jonathan being there to manage the conversation.

It hadn’t been hard to locate them in the terminal (or at least you hoped it was them, considering they were holding a sign with your name on it) and they’d immediately set about making you feel welcome. You’d followed them to their car, still clutching your travel case like a lifeline, and climbed into the back seat, making sure you were fastened in for the journey to the hospital.

“I’m sorry it took so long to let you know. We had to wait until Jonathan woke up and was lucid long enough to give us the code to unlock his phone. We really weren’t expecting you to drop everything and come to see him…you must have work commitments?”

Jonathan appeared to have inherited his forthright manner from his father, who was about as subtle as a brick to the face in his enquiry to your employment status. You caught his mother’s eye in the mirror, smothering your impulse to laugh as she rolled her eyes at his clumsy questioning.

“I work freelance as a web designer, I really make my own hours, and I can take my work with me if I need to travel. Besides which, if Jonathan needs me right now, I’d probably crawl across lava to get to him if I needed to Mr Hayes.”

He laughed at your somewhat emphatic response, you figured you’d scored points in his mind for being gainfully employed. That was one hurdle cleared at least.

“Please, Mr Hayes is so formal. I’m Patrick, this beautiful woman beside me is Edith, my wife. Whilst we’re on introductions, you’ve already met our youngest, Jonathan, but we left his brothers Alexander and Michael keeping watch over him whilst we came to pick you up.”

It warmed your heart to know they cared enough not to leave Jonathan alone whilst he drifted in and out of consciousness. He’d probably spent enough time waking in unfamiliar surroundings in his trip back to the states, the most you’d known about his posting was that it was somewhere overseas.

“Do you know what happened to him?”

You hazarded a question of your own, watching as his mother’s face fell and she shook her head. She fielded the question whilst Patrick suddenly became extremely focused on the road ahead.

“The most they would tell us was that a routine patrol went wrong. Jonathan was…’lucky’ that he came out with a broken arm and both legs broken. Two of his group didn’t survive. Ryan, his best friend lost a leg. Neither of them will be returning to active service. They sent their discharge papers back with them.”

You didn’t know whether to be relived for Ryan, or upset for his life altering situation, on one hand you could see the benefit of not having to explain to Jonathan his best friend was dead, he’d suffer enough for the other deaths, at the same time you hoped Ryan had a loving and supportive family like Jonathan did, he’d probably struggle to adjust to his new circumstances. Something Edith had said tugged at your subconscious.

“Is Ryan here too?”

Patrick sighed and took over the narrative again.

“He is. He lost contact with his family because they disliked the idea of him joining the military. We sort of adopted him into the family when Jonathan first made friends with him.”

So, they were coping with the aftermath of not only injury to their biological son, but also to their foster one. Both of them looked tired, you wondered whether they’d spent every possible moment they could with Jonathan and Ryan at the hospital.

“You can’t have found it easy, especially since you’re self-employed too? Jonathan said you and his brothers fished for lobster?”

A change of subject was probably needed, though you couldn’t help but fear you’d posed your question in a clumsy manner. You didn’t miss the look of relief that flitted across Edith’s face at what must have been a much safer topic of discussion. It was quickly replaced by a look of annoyance as Patrick applied the same sledgehammer subtlety to his answer.

“We’re going to need to put out to sea in the next few days, so Edith is going to have to cope alone.”

Which you guessed was a none to veiled enquiry on whether you’d be prepared to stick around. You decided to allay their concerns, they still seemed to be operating under the assumption you’d set eyes on Jonathan in his current state and head for the hills.

“Edith won’t be alone, I can stay for as long as needed, if you’re happy for me to stick around?”

You didn’t want to impose on their hospitality but figured it would be just as easy to hire a place somewhere if they couldn’t provide a room.

“That would be lovely. Then we can decide what to do when Jonathan gets out of hospital. It’ll be nice for me to have some company in the house.”

There the conversation ended, as you pulled into the hospital parking lot.

You’d been briefly introduced to Michael and Alexander before the Hayes family had departed the hospital room where Jonathan slept, leaving to spend some time alone with your boyfriend. His room wasn’t private, a bed close by contained Ryan, also sound asleep, no doubt assisted by a cocktail of painkillers. Most of his form was obscured by the sheet covering him, though you could see the outline where his left leg ended abruptly, just below the knee.

The room was silent, from outside you could hear the muffled footsteps of the nurses and the low buzz of conversations from other rooms. The air in the room was stale, for something to do you opened one of the windows, noticing you could smell the rain on the air, though the heavy grey clouds that had gather had yet to unleash their burden. The windows wouldn’t open more than a few centimetres, you had to open several to get even a hint of a breeze coming in.

“They do that so you can’t commit suicide, you know that?”

You almost screamed at the voice from behind you. Spinning on your heel you found one of Jonathan’s brothers standing in the doorway, watching you. You racked your memory for his name.

“I didn’t realise that…Alexander, right?”

He nodded and you thanked your memory for providing you with the correct snippet of information you needed.

“The eldest…dad told me you agreed to stay so we can go out? Just wanted to say thanks for that.”

Whilst you appreciated the sentiment you guessed it probably wasn’t just that he wanted to say.

“And to give Jonathan time?”

You hazarded a guess, noting the look of relief that flooded across his features as you inadvertently hit the nail on the head.

“Yeah…how did you know?”

Apparently, that was part of you background Jonathan hadn’t shared with his family. You decided to fill him in.

“I was an Army brat. Dad wasn’t really the same when he came back. We learned to give him time whilst he recovered. He always came back eventually…it just took time, and patience.”

Jonathan had mentioned in his conversations to you that he was the first in his family to pursue a military career. Which put you in the awkward (maybe helpful?) position of being much more experienced in dealing with this than they were.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Blake and my attempts to merge them together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter earned the rating I've put on this story, I keep meaning to revisit this and add to it, but keep getting distracted by other returning characters.
> 
> This was an early attempt at writing more adult situations for my characters. I think it worked (I hope?).

Alex’s smile became wicked, almost predatory as he held Blake’s wrists together in a one-handed grip.

“What did I say about trying to take control from me?”

Blake gave an answering smirk as he felt the strength keeping him pinned in place, and the lust it invoked lit a fire in his veins.

“That you’d have to punish me…”

He let his sentence trail off, melting under his partner’s smouldering gaze, swallowing thickly as Alex used his free hand to root in the bedside cabinet drawer, pulling out a set of handcuffs with a noise of satisfaction.

“Roll over onto your stomach.”

There was steel in Alex’s voice, the tone warned Blake that any attempt at being smart or cute would just make the punishment worse. He obeyed the command, feeling Alex release his wrists to allow him movement before the cuff snapped shut around one. Before securing the other he threaded the chain through one of the bars on the headboard, then restrained Blake fully, arranging him so he was lying on with his arms folded underneath him, placing a pillow under his groin so his backside was raised. Blake swallowed again, a sneaking suspicion he knew what punishment was coming his way.

Still the first slap took him by surprise, he exhaled sharply in a startled gasp, as the initial numbness was replaced by a stinging burn.

“Count them for me.”

Another command, Blake found the shock of the initial blow had robbed him of the ability to argue back.

“One.”

Alex rewarded him with another open-handed slap, hitting the same spot again.

“Two.”

Another blow. Blake wondered whether he’d be in trouble if he asked how many he was expected to count to.

“Three.”

Again, the blow landed, he’d be feeling this come morning.

“Four.”

Blake fought to breathe through the burning sensation, aware there was some part of his mind that must find this as hot as hell, because he was hard as a rock and leaking into the pillow beneath him, every time a blow landed it pushed him into the yielding plushness, providing the delicious friction he currently craved. He yelped it the fifth blow, feeling his eyes pricking with tears.

“Five.”

“Are you sorry now?”

Alex whispered the question into his ear, one had snaking under his abdomen, curling a hand around Blake’s leaking shaft and pretty much short circuiting his brain from whatever response Blake had been thinking to utter.

“Mmmhmm…”

Alex squeezed firmly; Blake choked on his own scream at the sensation it invoked.

“Use. Your. Words”

Alex accentuated every word with another squeeze.

“Yes, I’m sorry Alex!”

Blake yelped as Alex released his hold and rose from the bed, gaping stupidly at being left high and dry by his partner.

“Good, you can lie there and think about what you did. I need a shower.”

With that, Blake watched dumbstruck as Alex disappeared into the bathroom.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jonathan has nightmares, Albert is there to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to the serving Soldiers.
> 
> Just the start of something I was toying with, the idea that Jonathan would suffer from nightmares. But without MC there to offer comfort for the most part, so I had to give him someone else to be there.

Albert wasn’t sure what had first awoken him from sleep, though in hindsight, given the noises that Jonathan was making, it was likely he’d cried out.

On observation it was apparent that Jonathan was having a nightmare, his thrashing had led to him becoming hopelessly tangled in the bedsheet, which now seemed to be adding to his distress as he struggled to free himself. Albert sighed softly, sliding from his own bed, moving carefully across the space that separated them and studying his sleeping companion carefully to see if there was a way to free him without waking him up. Freed his nightmare might lessen, and heaven knew Jonathan needed sleep. The latest deployment had pushed the young scout to the limits of his strength and many of the soldiers on base shared stories of him wandering the corridors in the early hours, racked by insomnia. In the recent days Albert had requested Jonathan move into his room so he could keep an eye out for the blonde, who’d become pale and withdrawn as the exhaustion had really started to bite.

The evening had started off well, Albert had wrapped Jonathan up in a blanket and then wrapped both arms around the bundle and rocked him until he’d fallen asleep. He’d then kept his eyes open for as long as he could to make sure Jonathan showed no signs of distress before he himself had dropped off.

Only to be awoken again at, he checked the clock, three am. Which meant he’d managed a whole three hours of sleep himself. Still, he’d probably fall asleep again as soon as his head hit the pillow, Albert longer service meant he was much more desensitised to the horrors that were new and fresh in Jonathan’s mind with his relative inexperience. Not that Albert didn’t himself suffer from nightmares from time to time, but he’d learnt to seek help if the problems became too much for him to handle, the newer recruits seemed to think it was a sign of weakness if they didn’t shoulder the burden themselves.

After a few moments study he decided there was no simple way to resolve this. Which unfortunately meant that he’d have to wake his sleeping companion. Albert grimaced, if he tried this the wrong way, he’d likely earn a fist in his face for his troubles. 

He settled for standing well back from the bed, reached for Jonathan’s foot and tweaked his big toe. The effect was immediate, Jonathan started, awakening and lashing out instinctively before blearily looking around the room before his gaze finally rested on Albert at the foot of the bed. Speech seemed beyond Jonathan, the most he could manage was a quizzical whine, still struggling clumsily to free himself from the constraints of his blanket. Deciding it was now safe to approach Albert worked to free Jonathan’s legs from the restricting fabric, before settling on the bed next to Jonathan.

“You were having a nightmare…”

Albert let the sentence hang in the air, aware that Jonathan was shifting uncomfortably next to him, though whether he was disturbed by the proximity of his companion, or the idea of showing vulnerability was something that Jonathan would only tell him if he felt like it. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> College students band together to try and save Sam from his father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Or me attempting to write Sam being saved if MC hadn't assumed the role themselves.
> 
> I played with Ludia's concept of everyone having selective blindness when it came to Roger's treatment of Sam, this was the result.

Sam was clearly terrified, white faced and shaking like a leaf as he tore through his belongings, desperately searching through the contents of his bag over and over.

Zayn watched from the doorway as Jake cautiously approached the frantic teen, making no sudden movements lest Sam take to his heels. The younger blonde seemed completely oblivious to his presence; attention solely focused on quite literally tearing his bag apart in his search. To his horror Zayn realised that Sam was crying, tears rolled freely down his cheeks which he made no attempt to wipe away.

Jake finally reached Sam and dropped into a crouch next to him, which finally seemed to alert Sam to his presence. He started violently, jerking away from Jake’s initial attempt to make physical contact with him as though he feared a blow.

“Shush sweetheart, what’s got you so frightened?”

Jake’s tone was the same he used on Charlie when their youngest companion woke from a nightmare, one Zayn had privately dubbed his “mom voice”. His boyfriend had laughed at that, pleased to be the appointed mother hen of their little unconventional family. Ever since they’d met Sam at the coffee shop Zayn had assumed, he’d eventually be taken under Jake’s protective wing. Finding out from the college rumour mill about the nightmare that was Sam’s life had just been the icing on the cake as far as Zayn was concerned.

Both already knew was Sam was so frantic about. Hell, they’d been the ones to keep him busy on the shop floor so that Skylar could break into the locker to steal the mobile phone Sam otherwise never let out of his sight. Neither of them had thought that losing it would send him into such a blind panic, still, their actions had only been motivated by the desire to help him from a much worse predicament.

To say his father, Roger Knight, was a bastard was something of an understatement as far as Zayn was concerned. His reputation round town was that his firm of solicitors would represent anyone who could pay the fees they charged, and since those with the deepest pockets were often of the criminal persuasion it was of little wonder people thought him to be contemptable. To make it worse he was good at what he did, which meant more often than not people who should have been serving long sentences in prison were out walking the streets. Zayn could have forgiven him that, everyone had to make a living after all, if he hadn’t coupled it with the psychological abuse of his son.

Sam Knight had been raised solely by his father, what had happened to his mother was unclear, Sam had said she’d passed away, but opinion was split on whether this was the case or whether she’d simply vanished one day. 

From the moment he was born he’d been moulded to fit his father’s image and follow the career path that had been denied to Roger after an injury had ended his dreams of being a professional basketball player. Every aspect of Sam’s life was controlled and planned out, he’d told Jake he’d never left the town in which he was born, Roger’s family had been here for generations and saw no reason that Sam should need to leave prior to the contracts being signed with the basketball team of Roger’s choice. Everything in his life was decided for him, what he wore, what he ate, even the course he was studying as part of his scholarship had been picked to ensure his attention wouldn’t be distracted away from basketball.

Roger probably hadn’t counted on the safeguards the college put in place for students classed as vulnerable. Sam had probably been on the radar of the authorities since he first started school but attempt to get Sam to talk about what was happening had been met with stony silence, and his father’s knowledge of the law had buried the process in red tape. Still, his enrolment in the college had raised red flags on their systems, Jake and Zayn had found themselves charged with keeping an eye on the teen with a view to befriending him to see if Jake could crack the tough exterior Sam put on. It had worked before with Charlie, hence the forming of the impromptu family group as they’d rescued him from the effects of a broken home and a drunken, abusive parent. Charlie was just starting his second year, hence them being assigned Sam who was in his first year and the only scholarship student of the year.

They’d quickly worked out that Sam was suspicious of any attempts at friendship just from asking his fraternity brothers. They’d also learnt that Sam had an obsessive attachment to his phone, was constantly checking it, but wouldn’t let anyone see what he was looking at. Which meant there was probably something on it that could be used to break Roger’s hold on Sam, or at least remove Roger’s ability to decide Sam’s life for him.

“My…my…my…phone…I can’t find my phone! Roger’s going to…!”

However Sam was going to end that sentence his brain caught up with his mouth before it could slip out, terrified slate grey eyes flit between Jake and Zayn to see if either of them was going to press him further. He needn’t have worried; Jake was an expert at acting like he hadn’t heard something.

“Where was the last place you saw it?”

Jake managed to catch one of Sam’s wrists, gently grasping one of his hands between his own to cease some of Sam’s frantic movement. The frightened blonde stared at him dumbly for a moment as Jake rubbed gentle circles into the palm but made no attempt to withdraw from the hold.

A gentle rap on the window drew Zayn’s attention he glanced away from the scene in front of his to see Skylar frantically gesturing at him from the front window of the shop. Glancing back he managed to catch Jake’s eye and motioned that he was going outside, for which he received a nod in response and that Jake switched his attention back to soothing Sam, whose capacity for noticing anything outside the tunnel vision induced by his panic for his missing phone, was severely diminished.


End file.
